Hopalong Cassidy Returns (1936)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Nate Watt

Writers:

Harrison Jacobs (screenplay)
Clarence E. Mulford (story)

Release Date:

16 October 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Hopalong Cassidy Meets the Queen of Mesa Grande and matches his wits and heart against her brains and beauty.

Plot:

A crusading newspaper editor recruits his old friend Hoppy to take the job of Marshall in a town rife with vice and murder directed at helpless miners.

Plot Keywords:

Editor | Newspaper | Hopalong Cassidy | Wheelchair | Murder

Cast

William Boyd	...	Hopalong Cassidy
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Windy Halliday (as George Hayes)
Gail Sheridan	...	Mary Saunders
Evelyn Brent	...	Lilli Marsh
Morris Ankrum	...	Blackie Felton (as Stephen Morris)
William Janney	...	Buddy Cassidy
Irving Bacon	...	Peg Leg Holden
Grant Richards	...	Bob Claiborne
John Beck	...	Editor Bob Saunders
Al St. John	...	Luke
Ernie Adams	...	Assayer Tim Benson
Joe Rickson	...	Henchman Buck
Ray Whitley	...	Rancher Davis
Claude Smith	...	Henchman Dugan

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2547)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Harry Sherman Productions

Trivia:

The only film of the series to feature Hopalong's brother Buddy Cassidy, played by William Janney, who retired from films after only one more film in 1937.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the beginning of the film when Peg Leg arrives in town, in a couple of the shots Irving Bacon's right foot is clearly visible behind him, indicating that the bottom half of his right leg has been strapped behind him.

Quotes:

Windy Halliday: Deputize me, and I'll clean 'em up fer yuh.
Editor Bob Saunders: No, Windy. We must wait. We must have help - someone with brains as well as courage.
Windy Halliday: You go bringing in some outsider, and it'll be a plain case o' suicide. Why, they wouldn't have a chance!
Editor Bob Saunders: I feel sure the man I have in mind can take care of himself.
Windy Halliday: And who might this one man army be?
Editor Bob Saunders: A gentleman by the name of Hopalong Cassidy!
Windy Halliday: [stunned] Hoppy!
[he is beside himself with anticipatioon]
Windy Halliday: Holy smoke! Why didn't I think o' him before?

Movie Connections:

Edited into Law of the Trigger (1952)

Soundtrack:

Camptown Races

Very Similar To Destry Rides Again

Hopalong Cassidy Returns has two unusual attributes for the series. For the one and only time in the series Hoppy had a younger brother as a sidekick played by William Janney. And for the one and only time Hoppy had a love interest. In this case, in spite of himself.

After prospector Irving Bacon and city editor of the town newspaper John Beck are killed, Gabby Hayes who's visiting the town of Mesa Grande sends for his old pal Hopalong Cassidy. Lawlessness has gotten completely out of hand in this city and its up to the cowboy hero to set things right.

On the way into town Hoppy saves the life of Evelyn Brent who's been thrown from her horse. The next time he meets her he finds she's the owner of the town saloon and the boss of a gang of outlaws who's been robbing and killing the prospectors in the vicinity. She's got a couple of nasty henchmen in Grant Richards and Morris Ankrum.

Hoppy's got three problems to deal with, his kid brother Janney is wanting to sow some wild oats, but there's a good girl in town played by Gail Sheridan who might be the answer there. There's the problem of lawlessness and the romantic problem with Evelyn Brent.

More her problem than is because she's in a quandary. Her brains say one thing, but her hormones say something else about William Boyd.

There's more than a passing resemblance to the plot of Destry Rides Again in Hopalong Cassidy Returns. The screen credits for this film say it is based on one of Hoppy creator Clarence Mulford's stories. The original novel that Destry Rides Again was written by Max Brand, so it's anybody's guess who might have copied from who, consciously or unconsciously.

If you've seen the James Stewart-Marlene Dietrich classic you know how Hopalong Cassidy Returns will end. Still it's an unusual entry in the series and not a bad one.